{TOUR} The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (3 Reasons to Read + Giveaway)

We were so freaking excited when we heard that there would be a blog tour for this book and we can’t even tell you how excited we are to be a part of it! Today we are talking all about The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. This book is beyond amazing and we can’t wait to tell you all about it! There’s also a giveaway for you at the end of the post that you don’t want to miss! But first, here’s the 411:

***About the Book***

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy.

Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.

***Early Praise***

“Zentner’s prose wraps you up like a warm, Southern hug and packs the punches of a sweaty country brawl…The Serpent King is a debut you won’t be able to resist or forget. The Southern Boy in me savored every syllable and the reader in me fell in love with every page.”—John Corey Whaley, author of Where Things Come Back, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and William C. Morris Award

“The Serpent King gripped me in its coils and kept me turning pages late into the night. A triumph of love and dignity.”—Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author

“[T]his sepia-toned portrait of small-town life serves as a moving testament to love, loyalty, faith, and reaching through the darkness to find light and hope. Zentner explores difficult themes head on—including the desire to escape the sins of the father and the fragility of happiness—while tempering them with the saving grace of enduring friendship.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Thorough characterization and artful prose allow readers to intimately experience the highs and lows of these three friends . . . Recommended for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell.” — School Library Journal

“Characters, incidents, dialogue, the poverty of the rural South, enduring friendship, a desperate clinging to strange faiths, fear of the unknown, and an awareness of the courage it takes to survive, let alone thrive, are among this fine novel’s strengths. Zentner writes with understanding and grace—a new voice to savor.” — Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“A musician himself, Zentner transitions to prose easily in his debut, pulling in complex issues that range from struggles with faith to abuse to grief. Refreshingly, this novel isn’t driven by romance—though it rears its head—but by the importance of pursuing individual passions and forging one’s own path. A promising new voice in YA.”— Booklist“A moving debut novel of friendship and forgiveness that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it, I’m calling it now… The Serpent King is already one of my favorite books of 2016.”— Eric Smith for BookRiot

Rating Report

Cover

Characters

Plot

Writing

Swoon

Overall:

5

***3 Reasons You Should Read***

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Sometimes we finish a book and what comes to mind when we flip the last page is a never-ending string of feelings, reactions, and adjectives. This was one of those books. Here are just some of the things that were swirling through our heads- Holy crap. Wow. Damn that was good. WHOA. No, seriously. Whoa. SWOON. SWOON. SWOON. Is there more? We need more. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Painful. Amazing. The friendships! The swoon! Feelings, such strong feelings.

That should be enough to sell it, but just in case it wasn’t let’s talk characters. There is one heck of a crew on these pages. We could gush about our love for Travis, Lydia, Dill, and Lydia’s parents for an eternity and still not be sure that we did them justice. Just trust us when you say that you are going to fall hard for these guys and find yourself wishing they were your friends too.

Still need another reason to read this one? What if we tell you that the book we’ve been gushing about was written by a debut author? That always grabs out attention. Especially when their debut is so strikingly memorable. This is a book you are going to want on your shelves, and one that will stick with you for a very, very long time.

***Meet Jeff Zentner***

Jeff Zentner lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He came to writing through music, starting his creative life as a guitarist and eventually becoming a songwriter. He’s released five albums and appeared on recordings with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Thurston Moore, Debbie Harry, Mark Lanegan, and Lydia Lunch, among others.

Now he writes novels for young adults. He became interested in writing for young adults after volunteering at the Tennessee Teen Rock Camp and Southern Girls Rock Camp. As a kid, his parents would take him to the library and drop him off, where he would read until closing time. He worked at various bookstores through high school and college.

He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived in the Amazon region of Brazil for two years.

Your review is why I want to read this and keep it forever! You gushed so much about these characters and the best books I’ve read have 3D, lovable characters that I HATE closing the book on (sometimes I peek back through these books and sigh).

Aside from being a wormie, I want The Serpent King to claim its thrown on my shelves because I wanna read it so badly. Heard a lot of good reviews about the book on twitter and goodreads and I got curious, I want to know what they are talking about. 🙂

Everything you said in your three points as to why you loved the book is exactly why I want to read it! Character-driven stories that really make you feel what they’re feeling and stay with you are my favorites!

Rainbow Rowell’s endorsement and the many positive reviews have made me so eager to read this book. We need more stories exploring the intersection between poverty, religion and fantasy. As a former Charismatic, I can say that Pentecostalism sometimes seems like a fantasy come to life.